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 Odom, 35, the estranged husband of reality TV personality Khloe
Kardashian, has emerged from a coma and has been removed from a
ventilator that was assisting his breathing, the E! online and
television outlet reported, citing an unnamed source.
E! also reported that the 35-year-old National Basketball
Association veteran had opened his eyes, saw Kardashian at his
bedside and said to her, "Hey, baby," then gave her a thumbs-up sign
before falling back to sleep.
Celebrity news website TMZ.com reported earlier in the day, citing
unnamed sources, that cardiac tests revealed that Odom's heart
function had much improved. According to a separate account in USA
Today attributed to a person at the hospital, Odom opened his eyes
on Friday morning and appeared to be responding to voices and other
noise in the room.
Kardashian, 31, who has been in the midst of divorce proceedings
with her husband, has nevertheless remained with him since shortly
after he was admitted to the Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in
Las Vegas on Tuesday.
The couple split in 2013 after a whirlwind romance and marriage that
was chronicled on the reality television show "Keeping Up with the
Kardashians" and its spinoff series, "Khloe & Lamar."
Although the couple signed divorce papers in July, the divorce has
not yet been finalized by a judge and they are still legally
married.
Neither the Kardashians nor Odom's representatives have given any
official updates on the athlete's condition since he collapsed at a
legal brothel in Nevada called the Love Ranch and was found
unresponsive.
Authorities and brothel staff said he had used cocaine during his
four-day stay at the ranch, and had taken as many as 10 tablets of
an herbal sexual-enhancement supplement capable of dramatically
lowering blood pressure and interacting with other medications.
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Despite Odom's 14 years as an NBA player, including two championship
seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, U.S. media have largely focused
this week on his brief membership in the most famous family on
reality television.
Celebrity media, citing sources close to the family or at the
hospital, reported on Thursday that Odom was comatose and on life
support, that he had suffered a series of strokes and kidney failure
and that doctors were giving him a 50-50 chance of survival.
Odom's two teenage children from a previous relationship issued a
statement thanking his fans for their "outpouring of prayers and
support for our dad."
"We appreciate everyone respecting our privacy at this time. We ask
for your continued prayers," said Destiny and Lamar Odom Jr.
Cable channel E! says it is not filming for the reality show in Las
Vegas but has not said how it plans to handle Odom's situation when
the show is due to resume broadcasts next month.
(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional
reporting by Jill Serjeant in New York; Editing by Andrew Hay)
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